Money fund yields (7-day, annualized, simple, net) were up 1 basis point to 3.50% on average during the week ended Friday, February 20 (as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index), after decreasing 1 basis point the week prior. Fund yields haven't been below 3.5% since November 2022, and they are down from a recent high of 5.20% in November 2023. They should remain flat in coming days (and weeks) since the Fed left short-term rates unchanged four weeks ago. Yields were 3.58% on 12/31/25, 3.78% on 11/30, 3.90% on 10/31, 3.94% on 9/30, 4.11% on 8/31, 4.12% on 7/31, 4.13% on 6/30, 4.14% on 3/31/25 and 4.28% on average on 12/31/24. MMFs averaged 4.75% on 9/30/24, 5.10% on 6/28/24, 5.14% on 3/31/24 and 5.20% on 12/31/23. (Note: Register and make your hotel reservations ASAP for next month's Bond Fund Symposium, which is March 19-20 in Boston. Our discounted hotel rate expires on Tuesday, Feb. 24!)
The broader Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (currently 681), shows a 7-day yield of 3.39%, up 1 bp in the week through Friday. Prime Inst money fund yields were up 1 bp at 3.61% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were up 1 bp at 3.49%. Treasury Inst MFs were unchanged at 3.45%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 3.22%, Government Retail MFs yield 3.21% and Prime Retail MFs yield 3.40%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were down 7 bps to 2.04%.
Money market mutual fund assets have paused since hitting a record high of $8.225 trillion on February 19, according to our Money Fund Intelligence Daily. Assets have risen $49.7 billion in the week through Friday, and they've increased by $72.6 billion in February month-to-date (through 2/20). MMF assets increased by $32.9 billion in January, $126.3 billion in December, $132.8 billion in November, $142.1 billion in October, $105.2 billion in September and $132.0 billion in August. They rose by $63.7 billion in July, $6.7 billion in June and $100.9 billion in May. But MMFs decreased $24.4 billion in April. Assets increased by $2.8 billion in March, and $94.2 billion last February. Weighted average maturities were at 41 days for the Crane MFA and 42 days the Crane 100 Money Fund Index.
According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (2/20), just 158 money funds (out of 791 total) yield under 3.0% with $193.4 billion in assets, or 2.4%, while the vast majority (633) of funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($8.021 trillion, or 97.6%). No funds yield over 4.0%.
Our Brokerage Sweep Intelligence Index, an average of FDIC-insured cash options from major brokerages, was unchanged at 0.30%, after falling 1 basis point nine weeks prior. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of February 20, shows no changes over the past week. Four of the 10 major brokerages tracked by our BSI offer rates of 0.01% for balances of $100K (and lower tiers). These include: E*Trade, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Schwab.
In other news, Reuters writes that "Wall Street regulator allows intraday trading of tokenized WisdomTree money market fund." They comment, "The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday said it had granted a special request from the asset manager WisdomTree to allow intraday trading in tokenized shares of a money market fund, adding that this could speed settlement times and ease access for retail investors."
They explain, "Without Monday's one-off exemption from SEC regulations on mutual fund pricing, investors in the Treasury Money Market Digital Fund would be required to transact with the fund at the end of the day. The announcement is another step in broadening the tokenization of capital markets, or allowing transactions to occur on distributed ledgers known as the blockchain.... Tokenized securities have gained increasing attention as crypto companies have sought to capitalize on Washington's warming regulatory environment toward digital assets."
Finally, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission Commissioner Hester Peirce made comments recently titled, "Cutting by Two Would Do." She tells us, "The staff of the Division of Trading and Markets issued an FAQ relating to the treatment of payment stablecoins under the broker-dealer net capital rule (Exchange Act Rule 15c3-1). The FAQ provides that the staff would not object if a broker-dealer were to apply a 2% haircut on proprietary positions in a payment stablecoin when calculating its net capital. I appreciate the staff's approach."
The statement explains, "Stablecoins are essential to transacting on blockchain rails. Using stablecoins will make it feasible for broker-dealers to engage in a broader range of business activities relating to tokenized securities and other crypto assets."
It adds, "FAQs like this shed light on the staff's thinking about emerging issues. At the Commission level, I would like to consider how Rule 15c3-1 could be amended to account for payment stablecoins. To that end, I would be grateful to hear from market participants about their views, and welcome input on other aspects of our rules that they believe should be modified to address the use of payment stablecoins by SEC-registered entities."
See the SEC's full FAQ here.
